Why The Rams Should Consider Drafting Johnny Manziel

Dec 31, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas A

Although it is very unlikely that the Rams would draft a quarterback high in the draft, especially in the first round, but with Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel declaring for the draft, it should be something that they consider.

In 2010 the Rams drafted Sam Bradford, and although Bradford hasn’t had a lot of weapons and has had three different offensive coordinators, he hasn’t really been the franchise quarterback that this team was hoping for.

As a Rams fan there has to be something in the back of your mind telling you that Bradford isn’t “the guy”, something telling you that Bradford won’t be the same player coming off of his ACL injury, and something telling you that Bradford has reached his potential and maybe drafting Johnny Manziel wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

Now don’t get me wrong, I believe in Bradford, and will until the Rams put somebody else under center. All I’m saying here is that the Rams should consider drafting a franchise guy to sit behind Bradford for a year to learn the game, and that guy isn’t A.J. McCarron, Tajh Boyd, or Aaron Murray.

Now if Bradford plays well and leads the Rams to the playoffs, that’s great, Manziel becomes perfect trade bait for the 2015 draft, but if Bradford has a disappointing season, Manziel has had time to mature and learn the game, something that could be beneficial.

Manziel not surprisingly declared for the NFL draft on Wednesday, and with that I am saying the Rams should not trade away that number two pick, but instead choose a franchise quarterback, somebody that will for once bring excitement to the franchise.

There is a lot of doubt surrounding Manziel, but taking a look at what he’s done, it’s hard not to be impressed.  He threw for a school-record 4,114 yards and 37 touchdowns,ran for 759 yards and nine scores, and he owns the two best total-yardage seasons in SEC history, breaking Cam Newton’s record last year by posting 5,116 and following it with 4,873 this season.

In two seasons with the Aggies, Manziel threw for 7,820 yards and 63 touchdowns while rushing for 2,169 yards and 30 more scores. This season, he set school records for passing yards and passing touchdowns. In his 26-game career, he set at least 35 school, SEC and NCAA records.

Taking what this kid has done at the college level, winning a Heisman as a freshman, how can you not be impressed?

One of the only downfalls is his size as he is listed at 6’0 210 pounds. What experts tend to forget is, what some players lack in size, they can make up for in talent. Players such as Russell Wilson and Drew Brees who are superstar quarterbacks, yet are under six feet tall.

In no way will Manziel be drafted number one overall, leaving him open for the taking at number two, if Les Snead and Jeff Fisher want to take one of the biggest risks in franchise history, but possibly having a great reward; drafting Manziel may be the way to go.

Drafting Manziel may not be the most popular decision, and could bring in a lot of heat, but there are some players that just have that “it” factor, and Johnny Manziel has “it”, while on the other hand you just get the feeling that Bradford does not.

If leading your team back from a 38-17 deficit in one of the biggest games of the year doesn’t show that you don’t have “it”, I don’t know what does. But if you are still unsure, all you need to do is watch this clip:

Manziel would come in and definitely bring some excitement. Imagine having Manziel and Tavon Austin on the same field, on the same team. What may be underestimated, is that Manziel could make the Rams better contenders in the NFC West.

Both of the top teams in the NFC West, the Seahawks and 49ers have mobile quarterbacks, both of whom are quite successful. The Rams would be able to give the Seahawks and 49ers a little taste of their own medicine and run a little read-option of their own.

With Bradford, the Rams are one-dimensional in the passing game, as Bradford certainly is not a threat to run, Manziel on the other hand can take off and be in the end zone four seconds later. Just adding that running threat completely changes the mindset of a defense.

Drafting Manziel might also make sense for the Rams just for the fact that Jeff Fisher had his best years as an NFL coach with a mobile quarterback in Steve McNair. McNair improvised a lot with his legs and created a lot of plays, something that Manziel is pretty good at doing himself.

Manziel coming to St. Louis would give fans a reason to come watch the Rams play and fill those 1,000 or so consistently empty seats at the Edward Jones Dome. Johnny Football could just save the franchise and keep them in St. Louis.